Night of the Haunted
by AnonymousSanSama
Summary: Promise!AU, though no knowledge of the story is required. Lukas Bondevik and his friends, Arthur Kirkland and Nicolae Iliescu, decide to spendthe night in an alleged haunted house. Incident after incident turn a harmless night into a fight for their lives. Fic better than summary. Rated T for blood, arson, and freaky content.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, Nony here. I decided to try my hand at horror again. I wrote it for the same contest as Daily Routine. It's the same AU as "Promise," but no knowledge is required to read this, but I will admit that it's a great story. But I digress.**

**Norway: You always do**

**Shut it! **

**Romania: Nony does not own Hetalia Axis Powers in any way shape or form**

* * *

I tend to reflect to much on my past a lot. Mathias tells me I do it more than I should, but then has never never stopped me. I am trying to think about it a little less. Unfortunately, being in the hospital for a bullet wound to the chest doesn't help at all, as it only reminds me of another time I landed here, heavily drugged. Berwald and Emil refuse to acknowledge it ever happened. Arthur, Nicolae, and I, on the other hand, will never forget it.

* * *

"Are you coming, Arthur?" I snap, annoyed.

"Yes, yes," the Brit replies. "Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"This is going to be awesome!" Nicolae cries.

My two best friends-Arthur Kirkland and Nicolae Illiescu-and I race down a street together. We planned on dropping off our school bags at Arthur's home and heading over to an alleged "haunted house."

Nicolae and I both adore ghost stories and believe that they likely exist. On the other hand, Arthur takes his love of ghosts to an extreme. He claims to have gone to a hotel in England that had ghosts and to have met some "very friendly ones." Nicolae and I don't really believe that ghosts would be _that _outright the proof of their existence.

Arthur unlocks the door, allowing us to enter his home. Luckily, no one seems to be home and even luckier, no one in Arthur's family would even care. Both Nicolae and I told our parents (guardian, in my case) that we'd be spending the night at Arthur's house. My guardian can call, Arthur's father will tell him that I'm having a great time and am too busy to come to the phone.

Too bad we'll be spending our night in a haunted house.

"I have old backpacks from my brothers that we can use to take stuff," Arthur explains, leading the way to his room. "Food, drinks, the changes of clothes you two have with you, tarot cards-"

"Is it really the best idea to bring tarot cards?" Nicolae asks nervously.

"You're not wimping out on us, are you?" I challenge him.

"It's just that...forget it."

We quickly transfer everthing into the backpacks and head off on our trek to the house. Arthur still took the tarot cards.

After twenty minutes of walking, my friends and I find ourselves standing in front of a dillapidated house made of a mix of wood and brick. It looks ready to collapse.

"Is this it?" Nicolae asks.

Arthur checks the address with the paper he wrote the information on.

"Yes," the Briton confirms.

I reach for the knob.

"Are you ready?" I ask my friends.

Arthur and Nicolae nod.

I turn the knob. The door opens slowly, creaking on it's aged hinges. Venturing inside, we begin coughing from the musty air. We cover our mouths and try to get our bearings using one of Arthur's flashlights.

"It's so dark in here," Nicolae states.

"If you're scared, the door is right there," I tell him. "You don't have to stay."

Nicolae lets out a hearty laugh. "I'm staying." He then proceeds to cough from all the junk in the air he just inhaled.

One his little fit ends, the three of us begin exploring the house to search for the supernatural, armed with flashlights. We head down a long corridor. Dirt and grime obscures the paintings and pictures on the walls. Dust covers nearly every inch of the floor, except for where my friends and I have stepped. Everything here seems to be really disgusting.

What else should I have expected from a house like this?

I feel a cold rush of air behind me. Whirling around, my flashlight beam reveals-

"Lukas! Stop shining that bloody thing in my face!" Arthur snaps.

"Sorry. I thought I felt something."

Arthur's green eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

"It felt like a cold wind."

Arthur shrugs. "I don't know."

"It could have been a draft," Nicolae pipes up.

"There are no windows here," I tell him.

We continue walking. When we reach a staircase, we hear the first sound.

_Creak_.

We pause, peering up to the celing.

_Creak. Creak._

"What's that?" Nicolae squeaks in a nervous, yet manly-as he claims-tone.

"I'll go check it out," I find myself offering.

Arthur and Nicolae confirm that I'm positive about my desicion. At my insistance, they tell me to be careful and call if I need any help. I nod.

"I'll be fine," I reassure, begining the ascent up the spiral staircase.

I just lied to my best friends' faces.

I stalk through the hallway slowly. Unfortunately, the wooden boards beneath my feet scrape too loudly to properly tell where the other creaking comes from.

_Creak._

My head swivels to glance in the direction of the noise. Nothing.

_Creeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaak_

It got closer. Right behind me. I spin around and my breath catches in my throat.

The creature before me cannot be in any way be catagorized as human. It glares at me with its single bloodshot crimson eye.

"Go AwAy."

Heart racing in my chest, my reflexes kick in and I run. The aged, weakened floors can't seem to take my weight to well. They crack under my feet. I plunge down to the main floor and _through _it to the basement. My head cracks painfully against something.

My vision fades to black.

* * *

**How very typical of me to do that**

**Ages:**

**Arthur: Seventeen**

**Nicolae: Fifteen**

**Lukas: Fifteen/Youngest of the group**


	2. Chapter 2

**See? I said I'd update on Thursdays.**

**Erik: It's hard to believe you, considering you said Promise updates would be fast**

**One fic at a time, Erik! This time I'm serious about an update a week**

**Erik: I know, I know**

**Britian: Nony doesn't own anything aside from the plot and the Creature**

**If anyone is interested in a drinking game, (which I should have done in the first part,) take a drink whenever the trio does something stupid or perform a horror movie cliché.**

**(For any Homestuck fans who may be reading this, yes, the Creature has the same speech pattern as Gamzee. It was to tempting)**

* * *

"..kas. Lukas. Wake up. Please wake up."

Arthur.

My eyes slowly open to the strong beam of Nicolae's flashlight. I lay my arm over my face. Or at least try to. Every movement pains me. I moan.

"He's okay!" I hear Nicolae happily cry.

"What happened?" I croak, attempting to push myself into a sitting position.

"Careful. Your wounds look pretty bad," Arthur warns, helping me slowly. "You don't remember?"

"I remember going upstairs," I begin, trying to jog my memory. "I heard the creaking. I turned around and this...thing was behind me. I tried to run. There was a crack and the rest is a blur."

"You fell through the floor," Nicolae finishes.

"Seriously?" I question, skeptical.

Arthur and Nicolae glance at each other, turn back to me, and nod.

"We were so worried," Arthur explains, binding my injuries with a torn sweater and forming a make-shift sling for my arm, which wound up beneath me.

They assist me back to my feet. Unfortunately, I can barely hold my own weight and have to rely on Nicolae to support me. We attempt to head back up, taking it slowly for my sake and for our overall safety by testing out each stair before stepping on it. Once on the main floor, we find the largest room to make a make-shift camp, also known as putting the sheets we brought on the floor.

"Maybe we should have stayed downstairs," I comment. "No worries about the floor collapsing."

"It's fine," Arthur insists.

"Or maybe we shouldn't stay in one place."

"It's fine."

"That thing could find us if we stay in one place."

"It won't."

"How are you so sure?"

"It won't come here."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Arthur-"

"We get the point, Lukas," Nicolae cuts in. He settles down beside me. "It's not a good idea to stay in one place, but we need our rest." He claps his hands together. "I know! We'll take turns keeping watch. If anyone sees the Creature, he'll wake up the others and we'll either fight or run." Noticing my and Arthur's faces, he corrects himself. "Fine, we'll run."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," Arthur tells him.

"Well, considering the condition Lukas is in-"

"Don't use me as an excuse!" I interject.

"Sorry, but you can barely move."

"Shut up before I shove you through a meat grinder and feed you to that thing."

Nicolae falls silent. We try to tell a few fortunes with Arthur's tarot cards, but most revealed misfortune, so we give up. I guess it can be stupid considering that Arthur can't find one of the cards. I snag one of Arthur's cards just to taunt him. Petty and pathetic, I know.

After Arthur offers to take the first shift, I lay down and try to sleep. After who knows how long, said blonde Brit shakes me awake.

"What?" I moan at being awakened before I can have my coffee.

"Nicolae's gone."

Say what now?

I let out a gutteral snarl.

"That idiot."

I struggle to stand up. Arthur helps me up and we begin to search for a certain idiotic Romanian. We wander around the house, but we can't seen to find him.

"Nicolae!" Arthur calls.

I shoot him a glare.

"Arthur," I snap. "Are you a moron? That Creature can be anywhere."

Arthur sighs. "How else do you expect to find him?"

"I don't know, maybe actually looking around so that freakish thing doesn't know where we freakin' are!"

Arthur holds up his hands defensively.

"Calm down, Lukas," he tells me. "You're in no shape to get so overworked."

"I'm fine."

Arthur rolls his eyes. He indicates for me to follow him up the stairs to the second floor. The same floor I'd busted a hole in when running from that freakish creature. Once at the top of the stairs, I collapse to the floor, my legs tired. Great, one more thing for Arthur to comment on.

"BuNa ZiUa," comes a heavily accented, Count Dracula-esque voice.

Arthur and I turn to see Nicolae standing at the end of the hall. A crazed smile decorates his face, his hair obscuring his red eyes.

"There you are," Arthur sighs, visibly relieved. "Let's head back down, ol' chap."

A sinister chuckle escapes Nicolae's mouth. It gradually becomes louder and louder, until it turns into an all out maniacal laugh. Brushing his hair away from his eyes, my heart skips a beat and Arthur pales. Instead of their usual crimson hue, his eyes have taken on a black color.

"Nicolae," I gasp.

"YoUr FrIeNd Is No MoRe," he informs, his voice sounding echoed. "AnD sOoN, yOu CaN jOiN hIm. UnLeSs YoU lEaVe."

"What did you do to him!" Arthur demands. I can hear the panic in his voice.

"NoThInG. NoW gO aWaY."

"Not without him!" I growl. "Let him go."

"No. NoT wItHoUt...A pRiCe, PeR sAy."

"What's your price?" Arthur questions.

"LeT's SeE...hOw AbOuT yOu LeAvE?!"

Nicolae waves his arm, sending the dust blowing around us. Arthur and I try to block our faces, but dust still manages to get into our lungs, causing a harsh coughing fit. One the air clears and our hacking subsides, Nicolae has disappeared.

"That thing took over his body..." Arthur states, clearly in shock.

"No duh, Sherlock," I retort. I take a deep breath. "We need to come up with a plan to save Nicolae."

"What? Like using salt and talismans?"

"Something a little more conventional." I pause, thinking for a moment. "Unless you happen to have salt on you anyways..."

"Not this time," Arthur sighs.

"Wait, you seriously keep salt on you?" I inquire.

Arthur nods like my hair just turned purple.

"Yes. Why? You don't?"

I should really start thinking twice about who I become friends with.

I sigh.

"No," I reply. "And this time, we'll have to split up to look for Nicolae." Before Arthur can protest, I continue. "Don't say one word about my condition. I'm fine and we don't have a choice at this point. Something is up with this house, and we have to get out of here before one of us winds up dead-"

"But that Creature said that Nicolae-"

"That thing could easily be lying. It wants to intimidate us. It wants us to be afraid and leave. We have to show it that we're not afraid of it-"

"I'm afraid of it-"

"And that we're not leaving here without Nicolae-"

"But-"

"And we have to split up and find Nicolae _and_ that thing if we're to get out of here. You head downstairs, I'll look here and the attic"

After a moment of silence, Arthur pipes up, "I hate your plans"

"I know, but you have to learn to man up and deal with it."

On that note, I get up and head down the hallway. I can hear Arthur's grumbling as the stairs squeak beneath his weight. Thoughts get shoved out of my head as I pull my mind to focus on the one task at hand: Find Nicolae.

I wander through the corridor, peering into the rooms in hope that one will be holding the possessed Romanian. Checking room after room, door after door, everything ends in a bust; no sign of Nicolae anywhere on this floor. I find the ladder leading to the attic.

_This should be fun_, I think, rubbing my probably broken arm with my good one.

I exhale sharply before holding on to the highest rung I could reach. With a strained grunt, I use what little upper body strength I've always lacked to pull myself up. One rung. Yep, one measly rung.

With (great) difficulty, I manage to pull myself up the rest of the ladder to the attic. I flop down onto the floor, panting, my shirt and face drenched in sweat. I'm not a girl, but I must admit, it feels gross.

I glance around to get my surroundings. Moldy, dusty, disgusting boxes litter the floor and-like every other place in this freak show of a house-dust covers the floor and cobwebs hang from the ceiling.

"Nicolae?" I call. "Are you up here? Nicolae?"

No response.

Grumbling and swearing under my breath, I get back to my already unsteady feet. Something slips beneath my right foot, nearly sending me back on my butt. I peer down to see the purple back of a familiar looking card.

I pick it up, not caring about the ridiculous amounts of dust now on my fingers. I flip it over. My heart nearly stops. A tarot card identical to the pack that Arthur owns and brought now sits in my hand. Examining the card, I notice faint lines of symbols and a childish drawing. Of the Creature.

_These symbols. They're a spell. A curse. The card is cursed. _I wrack my brain for the information on what I've read. _It must have brought the Creature to life from the drawing. _

I reach into my pants pocket to find a card inside. I'd forgotten about the card I'd taken from Arthur's pack of tarot cards. Upon careful inspection, I find similar faint markings on Arthur's card. More incantations. Arthur once said that his brothers bought him the cards from a garage sale and that he'd never known the whereabouts of one of the cards.

The missing card.

This must be it.

I have to be holding it in my hand.

This can't be a coincidence.

Two cards with spells on them.

"Arthur's deck is cursed."

* * *

**& the moral of the story is, if you want to spend the night in a haunted house, make sure no one brings tarot cards**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, my lovely readers. I hope you're enjoying this so far. This is one heck of a part, but also the shortest. **

**& I make fun of Lukas's pitiful strength. Again.**

**Apologies for the short AN, if anyone is even humored by these.**

**Hetalia is not mine, or else something like this would be in the anime**

* * *

I hurry down the ladder to inform Arthur about his deck, when a noxious smell reaches my nostrils. Smoke.

_Where there's smoke, there's fire._

My brain slips into panic mode as the adrenaline flows into my body in overtime when I spot the bright flames licking up the walls. Blood pounds in my ears. My breathing becomes slightly labored. I can't think properly. The only dominant thought in my head turns out to be ,"Oh no, I'm gonna die."

No. I will not die. I will get out of here. I just hope Arthur and Nicolae will as well. Speaking of my friends, I hope Arthur found him...

A burning piece of wood grazing my bad arm knocks me out of my thoughts and almost off balance. I can't think of Arthur and Nicolae right now. I have to focus on getting out of here alive.

I fear trying to run after falling the first time, so I try to make my way down the hall at a steady pace. I know I should run, but that will most likely lead to me plummeting to my death this time. I can only survive so many falls. Especially in a fire.

"Nicolae, Arthur," I mutter, nearly tripping over a fallen frame. "If you guys were behind this, I'm going to gut you both like fish."

I pause when I see something sticking out of the frame. I know I'm an idiot for not ignoring it and breaking the number one rule of being in a burning building: Don't stop. But what I see inside intrigues me a little too much. More tarot cards

**_Lukas_**, the naggy little voice at the back of my head tells me as I cough from the smoke. **_Get out of there. You don't want to die._**

I leave the cards to burn the way they should. Running down the stairs, a step breaks beneath my foot, sending me tumbling down the rest of the flight. I land painfully on my stomach, my head smashing against the floor.

"Ugh," I moan as I lift my head, feeling blood flowing from my nose. "This is really not my day."

Using my teeth, I unknot a piece of cloth wrapped around a cut on my right arm (my good arm) to hold against my nose in an attempt to stem the flowing blood. I stumble towards the front hallway. Wooden beams collapse from the celing. All burning.

A piece clips my arm, scorching through my shirt sleeve and scalding my arm. A hiss of pain escapes my lips. Dark spots obscure my vision as a wave of dizzyness passes.

"I'll be okay," I whisper to myself between hacking coughs. "I'll get out of here just fine."

I support myself on non-burning patches of wall until I reach the doorway to sweet, sweet freedome. Unfortunately, the door just so happens to be locked. Seriously?

In a fit of rage, my foot lashes out. The force of the momentum fueled by my anger causes the door to fly off its hinges. Okay, I lack the physical stength to do that-even when I'm mad-so the door didn't exactly "fly off its hinges" per say. It just got flung open.

I stagger down the font walkway, finally collapsing on the aged lawn. I allow the claim me and obliterate the agony of my battered body.

For now.

* * *

**SHORT! I know, but one can only make a scene like this so long. R & R! Please! I asked nicely**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey readers~ It's finally time to see what happened to Arthur & how the house went up in flames. Enjoy. R&R, the usual**

**Canada: Nony, is something wrong? **

**Why? You think something's wrong?**

**Canada: Well, you're not doing your usual banter...**

**Nah, I'm just tired & it's a hectic night**

**As much as I wish, Hetalia doesn't belong to me. Sorry to all my fans ^_^**

**Warning?: Sassy!Creature is sassy**

* * *

Arthur watches as Lukas disappears down the corridor.

"That git's going to get himself killed at this rate," he mutters to himself, decending the stairs carefully. He sighs. "I hope Nicolae is okay."

He makes his way around the main floor in search of the possessed Romanian. So far, no luck.

_Where is he?_ the Brit wonders.

He peers into every room he can find, but nothing.

"Nicolae?" he calls. "Nicolae, where are you?" Channeling his anger, he yells, "I will bloody kill you if you're really dead!"

He hears a little giggle. Spinning on his heel, he sees no one behind him.

"That's bloody wonderful," he mutters sarcastically to himself. He raises his voice. "Nicolae Illiescu! Where in this bloody house are you!"

Upon receiving no answer, he grumbles all the way down to the basement. He hears footsteps behind him.

"HeY, KiRkLaNd."

Arthur whirls around to see a familiar strawberry blonde.

"Nicola-"

"HoW mAnY tImEs Do I hAvE tO TeLL yOu ThAt YoUr FrIenD iS gOnE?" he questions.

"He's not," Arthur snarls. "He's fine but you won't be once I get you out of him."

"YoU'rE aFrAiD oF mE, aReN't YoU?"

"No!" Arthur snaps, despite his slight shaking. _I'm terrified out of my bloody mind._

"YoU kNoW, iF iT wErE'nT fOr YoU, I'd StIlL bE tRaPpEd In ThAt HoRrIbLe PrIsOn."

"What do you mean?"

"ThOsE cArDs In YoUr PoCkEt." A crazed smile takes over his face. "I cAn'T sEeM tO sTaY aWaY! I lOvE tHeM!"

"My cards? You mean my tarot cards?"

"No, I mEaN yOuR pOkEr CaRdS. YeS I'm TaLkInG aBoUt YoUr TaRoT cArDs!"

"You know, you don't have to be so rude."

"ShUt Up."

Arthur's eyes narrow. "What do you want?"

"ReLeAsE tHe ReSt Of My CoMrAdEs."

"Who?"

"EvErYoNe WhO's StIlL iN tHe CaRdS. LeT tHeM gO!"

"No." Arthur stands firm. _Not like I know how to anyways._

"WhAt DiD yOu JuSt SaY?"

"I said 'no.' Final answer," the blonde Brit repeats.

Nicolae snarls, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Do not ARGUE WITH ME! I want those cards AND I WANT THEM NOW!"

"I'm not giving them to you! You'll have to pry them from my cold, dead, bloody hands."

"DoN't TeMpT mE."

Arthur feints, confusing Nicolae, giving him a chance to run.

"Why you LITTLE FREAK!" Nicolae chases after him.

Arthur races through the basement.

_What should I do? I hate to admit it, but I could use one of Lukas's hairbrained schemes right about now._

He winds up in a random room where the only the only notable thing unfortunately winds up being a dead end.

_Just my luck._

"YoU cAn'T eScApE fRoM mE," Nicolae taunts, entering the room and backing Arthur into a corner.

Arthur lashes out with a right hook, clocking his possessed friend in the face. Reeling backwards, Nicolae grabs Arthur by his shirt, pulling him down with him. The two teens land on the ground with a loud thump.

Arthur pulls his deck of tarot cards out of his pocket along with a matchbook.

"You want these so badly?" he yells, removing a match. "You can burn with them!"

He throws the deck onto the floor, sending up a cloud of dust. Dropping the match on the floor, the aged wood creates the perfect kindling, ingiting and engulfing the cards right away.

Nicolae cries out in agony, collapsing to the ground. A dark aura surrounds the convulsing teen as the flames burn away the curses, turning them into ash. Arthur hefts Nicolae onto his back.

_We have to get out of here!_

The blonde Briton carefully climbs up the stairs. Smoke obscures his vision. Coughing, he makes his way as close to the from hall as he can, before Nicolae's convulsions knock him to the floor, Nicolae rolling off his back.

Arthur peers up in time to witness the horrid Creature being purged from his friend's body. It's shaggy dark hair flares up. It's bloodshot eyes widen and a terrifying screeh escapes its mouth as it slowly disintergrates into nothing more than a pile of ash, leaving behind Nicolae's prone form on the burning floor.

The emerald eyed teen hurries to return the unconcious Romanian onto his back. He runs as fast as he can to reach the front door. Burning wood collapses around Arthur. His heart races.

_We have to get out alive. _A thought dawns on him._ I hope Lukas is okay._

Much to his relief, Arthur discovers the front door open. He bursts out into the fresh night air. Once outside, his adrenaline dies down and the agonizing pain of his burns rips through his body. He staggeres down the front walk. He trips over someone. To his shock and horror, he realizes that he stumbled over an unconcious Lukas.

Arthur takes a deep breath and calls out a single word, before submits to the darkness.

"Help!"

* * *

**Erik: Daaaaaang. That's cool.**

**R&R! Please! I asked nicely~**


	5. Chapter 5: Final

**I'm so sorry this is late, everyone! I was really tired last night & I wasn't feeling well yesterday & it just totally slipped my mind & wow I fail at keeping this deadline. **

**Finland: Deep breaths, Nony. It's okay. At least you're getting this up now.**

**Thanks, Finland**

**Finland: No problem.**

**Now, without further ado, this is the final part of Night of the Haunted, making this my first completed fic in both content and in editing (For Promise readers: The epilogue is not yet typed & edited, so yeah.)**

**Quick shoutout to:**

**Those who followed: OnWithTheButter, Oribes, RedKingOfCake (who was the one who actually sparked my initial love for writing horror. Not this, but my first horror fic), Redthorne19, and The Sterling Dragon**

**Those who favorited: AndDownWeGO, AwesomeBrit223, EnterTheDarkSide, OnWithTheButter, RedKingOfCake, & The Sterling Dragon**

**Those who reviewed: The Sterling Dragon, RedKingOfCake, & D1g1m0ncrazy**

**To my beyond amazing beta & best friend, Moose, who dealt with my whining & rambles as I was writing this, who also derped with me over the complex workings of the tarot cards**

**And a huge thank you to all the people who read this, even if they didn't favorite, review, or follow. I love you all~! **

**If anyone is interested in how the tarot cards worked, there are notes here on my LJ ruby-writer .livejournal **

**As usual, unfortunately, Hetalia does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. I do own this plot & the Creature though.**

**I apologize for the ridiculously long AN, but I just wanted to thank all these wonderful people.**

**And now, it's time for the final part of Night of the Haunted.**

* * *

_**Beep...Beep...Beep**_

My eyes slowly open to white walls.

"He's awake!" I hear a high voice cry happily. "Lukas is awake!"

_Where am I? _I wonder, my mind feeling foggy. _Who's calling my name ?_

My eyes widen when it dawns on my that I lay in a hospital. Peering around a bit, I find my left arm suspended and in a cast, bandages covering different sections of my right arm and my legs. Lifting my right hand, I even feel bandages over my nose and around my head while ignoring the IV taped to. I must look like utter crud.

"Hey. Y' ok'y?"

I spot my "brother," Berwald watching me intently. Next to him sits my actual, literal little brother, Emil. I realize that Emil called my name before.

"What happened?" I ask, my voice rough and hoarse.

"Ya fell d'wn th' st'ps," Berwald explains.

"How bad were my burns?"

"B'rns? Wh't b'rns? Y' f'll d'wn th' st'rs 't h'me. Th're w's n' f're 'nv'lv'd."

"At home? What about the haunted house?"

"What haunted house?" Emil pipes up excitedly. He tugs Berwald's sleeve. "I wanna go to a haunted house!"

"N' Em'l," Berwald replies sharply. "N' h'nt'd h'ses."

Emil pouts.

"Meanie."

"So, what happened?" I inquire, cutting off the argument.

"You tripped down the stairs at home and broke your arm and nose," Emil explains nonchalantly, swinging his feet back and forth. "Berwald's friend helped you."

"Tino?" At Berwald's nod, I add, "Did he cry first?" He nods again. Typical Tino.

Berwald sends Emil out to get a snack from a vending machine in the hall. He then turns to me and asks, "Wh't 's th's h'nt'd h'se y' k'p goin' 'n ab't?"

"I was in a haunted house with Arthur and Nicolae. Arthur had these tarot cards that turned out to be cursed and connected to a cursed deck in the house. There was this Creature, I fell through the floor twice, and Nicolae got possessed. Arthur and I split up to look for him. I think either one of them sent the house on fire."

"M'st've b'n a b'd dr'm," Berwald muses.

"It felt so real," I murmer, closing my eyes for a moment.

"T'red?"

"A bit."

Emil comes skipping happily back in with a candy bar. I'd tell him not to eat it before dinner, but I decide to let him off this one time. After a little while, he and Berwald leave to let me rest.

"This could not have been a dream," I mutter to myself. "It felt way too real."

For the first time, I notice a woman perched on a chair in a corner facing away from me.

"Hello?" I call to her.

She turns her head, peering downward. Her dark bangs obscure her eyes.

"Who are you?"

She rises from her seat, heading for the door. I catch a glimpse of bloodshot crimson eyes before she exits.

Through the wall.

* * *

**I'm so proud of this ending. One of my friends was ready to skin me when I told her that this was the final end. **

**This may be the end of this fic, but reviews will always make me happy!**

**Thanks for reading & I hope I didn't disappoint anyone!**


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